History of Flight
On April 5, 2021, about 1939 central daylight time, an Evolution Revolt weight-shift trike, registration N565PK, was destroyed when it struck terrain near Seminole, Texas. The student pilot sustained fatal injuries. The flight was conducted as a personal flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
A witness who knew the pilot reported that the trike was flying at a lower altitude than usual and then executed a sharp low turn. She stated that the wind picked up at that moment and caught the wing. The pilot attempted to recover but the trike impacted the ground, with one wing and the area of the pilot's footrest striking first.
Cell phone video provided by another witness showed the trike fly over at about 50 ft altitude, then perform a 360° right turn with a bank angle of approximately 45°, followed by a 180° left turn with a similar bank angle. The video ended as the trike appeared to enter another right turn, about 20 seconds before the accident.
A separate video, provided by the trike manufacturer, had been sent by the pilot on October 26, 2020. It showed the trike on the ground with the engine running, then accelerating and taking off. Shortly after takeoff, the trike made a series of low-altitude banked turns at about 30 ft above ground, with bank angles reaching approximately 80°.
Personnel Information
The pilot held a student pilot certificate issued on November 20, 2019. No pilot flight records were recovered during the investigation, and the pilot did not hold an FAA-issued medical certificate. According to the trike manufacturer, the pilot purchased the trike about one year before the accident and received flight training to solo at the manufacturer's facility in Florida. After soloing, the pilot did not receive further instruction from the manufacturer, and no evidence of additional instruction was found.
Aircraft Information
The weight-shift-controlled trike featured a high-mounted, strut-braced wing attached to a suspended frame with tandem seating. The front seat housed the pilot, with engine and flight controls accessible from that position. The trike had a tricycle landing gear arrangement and was powered by a Rotax 912 ULS engine modified with larger pistons and cylinders to increase displacement, raising power output to about 115 horsepower.
Wreckage and Impact Information
Impact signatures indicated that the trike struck the terrain in a nose-low, left-wing-low attitude, consistent with witness descriptions. The left-wing leading edge spar was broken 4 ft from the wing tip and bent upward. The forward portion of the airframe cage exhibited rearward crushing damage, and the left landing gear was bent upward and rearward. All five propeller blades were fractured at their roots, with the root ends remaining attached to the carbon fiber propeller hub. The hub was connected to the engine via a carbon fiber extension, which was found separated around its circumference, consistent with torsional failure. The ballistic parachute was out of its housing and lying on the ground adjacent to the trike, but the rocket motor had not been fired. A witness reported that the parachute deployed after impact. The trike's maintenance records were not available.
Medical and Pathological Information
Toxicology testing performed by the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory identified diphenhydramine at 41 ng/mL, fluoxetine at 101 ng/mL and its metabolite norfluoxetine at 198 ng/mL, and alprazolam at 79 ng/mL in cavity blood. These substances, along with the alprazolam metabolite alpha-hydroxyalprazolam, were also detected in urine. Diphenhydramine is a sedating antihistamine commonly sold as Benadryl, used for allergies, colds, and insomnia. Fluoxetine is an antidepressant not known to cause significant negative psychoactive performance effects in adults. Alprazolam is a sedating benzodiazepine used to treat anxiety.